Friday, December 16, 2011

When it comes to MP4 & MP3 players there are a lot of options out there. In our economy, it is easy to look for value with a lot of features. The Coby MP957 is one such device. It is a MP4 & MP3 player at heart, but it does more, such as an e-reader.

It's features and specs include:

Memory Included: 4GB

Memory Type: Flash Memory

Max Built-in: 4GB or 8GB (optional microSDHC)

Display Size: 5.0 Inch

Display Type: Color TFT LCD

Display Resolution: 800x480

Audio Input: 3.5mm Headphone Terminal

Audio Output: Integrated Stereo Speakers

Video Output: Mini HDMI - Type C (max 1080p) 3.5mm

Component Video (max 1080p)

USB Port 2,0 Hi-Speed

Audio Format Support: MP3, WMA

Video Format Support: MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG-4, H.264, H.263, WMV

Photo Format Support: JPG, GIF, BMP, PNG

OSD Menu Languages: English, Spanish, French, German

Certifications: CE, FCC

AC Adapter and Charger: (DC 5V)

Battery Type: Integrated Rechargeable Lithium Polymer

Battery Capacity: 1600mAH

Unit Dimension: (WHD) 3.33" x 5.04" x 0.54"

Package Dimension: (WHD) 7.24" x 5.63" x 2"

The Coby MP957 came well packaged with all the accessories needed, such as power cable, manual, and earbuds, carry case, USB cable, HDMI cable, and remote control. The fit and finish was nice. Quality appeared good. It had a good heft to it, and felt solid. The screen was not a touch screen, but it had good saturation and resolution, and overall looked pleasant.

The layout of the device was also well thought out. Inputs and outputs were on both sides. The right side had the headphone jack, video out, micro SD card slot, and volume up and down buttons. The left side had the HDMI out and USB. The top of the device had the power/play/pause button, esc., forward, backward, and menu buttons. On the back were the pair of built-in speakers. On the bottom was the IR sensor for the remote control.

The Coby MP957 was easy to use and performed well. The movie settings allowed you to watch movies on your device in DVD quality. The photo mode was what you would search though the photos shared on the device, and you can even set it to do a slide show. The same was true for modes for radio and e-reader, which is where you would go to listen to the radio and read documents. You could manage your music by genre, artist, album, or rating, and also save your favorite radio channels. The Coby MP957 even allows you to play music while watching a slide show of your photos.

Performance of the Coby MP957 was good. Video and photos looked good. And with the video out, you can watch up to 1080p on your big screen. Using the e-reader worked ok. You could zoom in to make the text bigger, but it would not save from page to page. It worked for pdf files, but not for full e-books and us not compatible with Kindle or Nook. Music sounded pretty good stored on the Coby MP957. The Coby MP957 did not have a built in fm or am antenna, like most mp3 players. Instead, it uses the earbud/headphone cable as the antenna. It's radio tuner was not overly impressive, but did work as well as expected for a small device. I also did like the fact that the Coby MP957 also has a built-in calendar.

The Coby MP957 proved to be a great little device that provided a lot of bang for your buck. And with an MSRP of $109.99, this player is and excellent value. Based on it's design, features and performance, it has earned our Value Award. For more info and complete specks, check out their website at http://www.cobyusa.com/.